Two otter-ly enchanting pups; Buttonwood Park Zoo greets new duo

The North American river otter pups, still unnamed, are 13 weeks old and the zoo's youngest residents. They will make their formal public debut on Tuesday.

JOSH SULLIVAN

NEW BEDFORD — The first zoo-goers to pass through the gates at the Buttonwood Park Zoo Friday morning were in for a special surprise.

Two baby otters accompanied by their mom were making a public appearance.

The North American river otter pups, still unnamed, are 13 weeks old and the zoo's youngest residents. While some people were lucky enough to get a glimpse of them Friday, they will make their formal public debut on Tuesday morning at 9:45 a.m.

The night before, their names and genders will be revealed at a special "members only" event, zoo officials said in a news release.

"They're one of the favorite animals in the zoo. They're incredibly cute and they are a very active species ... The community absolutely loves these animals," Zoo Director Keith Lovett said Friday.

The river otters are wetland dwellers, and according to Lovett, their population was on the decline over the past few decades due to wetland destruction.

However, thanks to recovery efforts and stronger wetland laws, the numbers are on the rise.

"This is part of a species survival plan to breed otters," said Lovett. "Some of it is for educational purposes, but a lot of it is to have a strong genetic population in captivity."

Buttonwood's pups weighed only a quarter-pound each when they were born, but now tip the scales at six pounds. A typical adult weighs about 10 kg or 22 pounds, according to otter.org.

"They're really smart, they're really agile on both land and water, and they're very food-oriented, so that makes it very fun to work with them," said senior keeper Kristy Kaetrle.

Kaetrle and another zookeeper, Caitlin Riley, have been working with the otters for a short time, but they both said the time spent training the otters is the most exciting part of their day.

They train the pups to weave through poles and climb into closed cardboard boxes. They even followed their mother Dani down a water slide for the first time, though that proved to be a bit too adventurous for the newcomers. Riley and Kaetrle's goal is for the pups to run an obstacle course by the end of the summer.

Dani loves these activities as much as her pups do and the Buttonwood staff attributes this to the attached-at-the-hip mentality the river otter species is known for.

"They copy anything that their mother is doing, so they're learning good and bad behaviors," Riley said.